Biker road rage killer in court today

FILE PICTURE: Members of the SAPS and JMPD attend to a crime scene where a biker was shot dead in an apparent road rage incident, 14 February 2014, in Kya Sands, on Malibongwe Drive. Allegedly the biker and a motorist faced off, with both men armed and discharging their guns. The motorist was also shot and is in a critical condition in hospital. Picture: Michel Bega

The man accused of shooting and killing a motorcyclist during a road rage incident on Malibongwe Drive in Randburg in February will appear in court on April 25.

Murder accused Meekahefele Masooa ,43, said that the deceased, motorcyclist Douglas Pearce, 39, confronted him on the day of the shooting.

“He shouted at me, pointed the middle finger at me, and swore at me,” said Masooa in an affidavit read out by his lawyer.

In Masooa’s version of events, Pearce allegedly approached his vehicle while pointing a firearm which prompted Masooa to reach for his own gun. The confrontation ended with shots being fired.

Masooa said he had no intention of killing Pearce and maintained that he acted in self-defence, was not a flight risk, and was a family man with no history the Roodepoort Magistrates court heard during his bail application.

The court heard that the accused, a labour law consultant lives in Centurion, Gauteng, with his family and owns a R2.2 million house, a BMW and an Audi.

“I cannot just pack up and leave my wife and four daughters. I submit that I am stable, self-employed as a labour law consultant, and have an expired passport, so I can’t travel outside South Africa,” read Masooa’s affidavit.

Masooa was granted bail of R5 000.

However it was revealed that the accused had been arrested for pointing a firearm at someone else prior to the incident, but was never convicted of the crime.

The accused will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates court on April 25.